blockade
11 briefs
The Strait Nobody Can Open
The Hormuz blockade is costing $2 billion a day in global shipping, yet neither side can afford the deal that would end it.
Pay Iran or Face US Sanctions. Shipping Companies Must Choose.
The US has threatened to sanction any shipping firm that pays Iran's Strait of Hormuz transit tolls, while simultaneously describing its own seizure of Iranian cargo as 'very profitable.' The global maritime economy now has no legal path through the Strait.
Israel Seizes Gaza Aid Flotilla 1,000 Miles From Gaza
The interception near Crete ends the mission before it starts and turns 175 detained activists into a diplomatic problem for every government that said nothing.
Iran Is Running Its War Economy on Crypto. The US Is Losing the Race to Stop It.
The IRGC controls half of Iran's $7.78 billion crypto ecosystem. The US just froze $344 million. Neither number is the real story.
Oil Hits $119 After Trump Says the Blockade Is 'More Effective Than the Bombing'
The White House is preparing to extend its naval blockade of Iran indefinitely. Iran says it can hold out. Someone is wrong, and the world's energy markets are pricing both possibilities simultaneously.
The Oil Clock: Iran Has Until Mid-May Before the Blockade Becomes Irreversible
Iran's onshore storage fills in roughly 20 days. After that, the regime must shut wells it cannot restart. The decisive variable is not the US Navy. It is whether China keeps buying.
The Ceasefire That Isn't
Both sides are calling it peace while actively fighting. The real question is who blinks first before the next deadline.
The Ceasefire That Isn't
The US and Iran are both blocking shipping and calling it peace.
The Siege That Talks Are Supposed to End
The US blockade of Iranian ports is working militarily and collapsing diplomatically at the same time.
The Hormuz Blockade Is Not About Iran. It's About What China Will Agree to Before Trump Arrives in Beijing.
The US naval embargo that's halting oil tankers in the world's most critical shipping lane has a secondary audience of one: Xi Jinping, who needs that oil and who Trump is visiting in six weeks.
The Blockade Begins
After ceasefire talks collapse in Islamabad, the US Navy moves to strangle Iranian ports. Oil hits $104. The question is not whether Iran will respond. It is how.